Useful Objects

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Useful Objects is written by Reed Gochberg and published by Oxford University Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 0197553486 (ISBN 10) and 9780197553480 (ISBN 13).

'Useful Objects' examines the cultural history of nineteenth-century American museums through the eyes of writers, visitors, and collectors. Throughout this period, museums gradually transformed from encyclopedic cabinets to more specialized public institutions. These changes prompted wider debates about how museums determine what objects to select, preserve, and display-and who gets to decide. Drawing on a wide range of archival materials and accounts in fiction, guidebooks, and periodicals, this text shows how the challenges facing nineteenth-century museums continue to resonate in debates about their role in American culture today.